It went on for almost an hour until my hair dripped with sweat and my tunic clung to my chest. At last, I set down my practice sword and leaned on the weapon rack to catch my breath. When I let my stare wander over the training yard, with its maze of pells like a fake forest and the shirtless men peopling it, I caught someone watching me. Thank the Goddess, it wasn't Jathalion. In fact, Jathalion must have left while I was training, because he wasn't anywhere to be found.
My ragged breath hitched when Taroc's stare impacted with mine. He was bare-chested, as I should have been. If I had been, my sweat would have been dripping down my chest just as Taroc’s did his, sliding over his hard pectorals. Instead, my tunic was soaked. It was probably cooler to go without a tunic and definitely a much better look. Taroc glistened, his bulging muscles enough to make me salivate. Oh, fuck. A bead of sweat had made it to his nipple and gathered there with others until it grew heavy enough to drip off that tight, rosy bud. I nearly whimpered.
Taroc had his practice sword slung over his shoulder as he took a break from working his pell. As casual as his pose was, his stare was anything but. It burned. It seared. It scorched the air between us.
Like a scared rabbit, I looked away.
As soon as I did, I could breathe again. This made focusing on something else both beneficial and mandatory. But I still felt Taroc's stare on me even as I met the curious stares of my men.
“Are you ready?” Rath asked.
Fuck, yes, I'm ready. I can't wait to feel that sweaty, hard body slamming against . . . wait.“Ready for what?”
Rath frowned. “We're done here. I just asked if you wanted to shower before we went to the quarry to train Xae and Kel.”
“Oh. Yeah, I do.” I headed out of the training yard. Away from Taroc. Twitching my ass just in case he was still watching.
My men went with me, casting looks over their shoulders.
“What?” I asked.
“Taroc is staring at you,” Xae said, a growl in his tone. “Like he's hungry.”
“Yeah, for rump roast,” Kel said and slapped my ass. “And who can blame him when you have an ass like that.”
A thrill went through my belly, but I didn't look back, nor did I let the pleasure reach my face. I just asked, “Oh?”
“Holy shit!” Keltyr exclaimed. “Already? We just bonded. It's been like five seconds!”
“I don't know what you're talking about.” I headed into the keep.
“This is a good thing,” Rath said to Kel. “He needs to—”
“But already?” Kel interrupted. “It's a little insulting.”
“We were barely bonded when he added you,” Xae said.
“I'm not adding anyone,” I said. Then, before they could say anything more, I faded upstairs to our room.
I only risked fading in the keep because I knew no one would be in our suite. The last thing I wanted to do was reform in the same place someone else occupied. That would be bad. It was the reason we had an arrival chamber. Yes, we took the risk when we faded to a mission, but it wasn't really a risk since the Emperor's magic directed our fades, taking us exactly where we needed to be and ensuring it wasn't into someone else.
And because I had gone without them, my men had to take the stairs. All six flights.
I chuckled as I headed into the bathroom. When you have three lovers, two of whom live in the same suite as you (Keltyr hadn't decided if he wanted to move in yet), you take every opportunity to be alone. Especially when you know you're about to be interrogated. So, I hurried out of my damp clothes and into the shower.
It wasn't anything against my men. As I mentioned, I love them. I love them more than myself. I'd do anything for them, including dying. But a guy needs some time to himself every now and then.
Maybe it was how I was raised. I'd spent so much time hiding my power and holding myself back from people. I didn't have friends before I joined the Wraith Lords, and the only sexual relationships I had were with men who skulked into my home late at night and left a few hours later. So, living in a keep with hundreds of people who knew what I was and accepted it, even welcomed it, had been wonderful. At first. But then I got with Rath and Xae. And we became a team. They were always with me. When we ate, slept, fucked, worked, and trained. The only time I didn't have one of them beside me was when I was conducting some private business in the bathroom. And now I had Kel too.
Shit. Did I really want to add another lover? Was fucking Taroc worth it?
I thought about the glances I'd stolen of Taroc training. Bare-chested. Muscles bunching. Sweat making him glisten. The movements of his body had been hypnotizing. His hips swinging in alignment with his sword. His tight ass clenching. Thick thighs revealed by the thin cotton of his breaches. And his man-bits outlined, moving like a pendulum despite the fabric clinging to them. I had imagined myself kneeling before Taroc, mouth open and tongue stuck out to lick his cock every time it swung past. I imagined it now.
“Yup,” I said. “Worth it.” Then I looked down at my hard cock. “Shit.”
“You are going to pay for that,” Xae growled as he entered the bathroom.
I blinked down at my cock.How did he . . . ?Oh, right. Xae wasn't talking about my fantasies. I made them take the stairs. And it was a lot of stairs.
